Doppelganger : Dawn of the Inverted Soul [Guide up]

[Aquane]

I just finished one of raphaels paths.. number 3, I believe... >_< My mind is blown! My gosh...

First I'd like to ask.. was this a GOOD ending compared to the others? It seemed like it was going to be and then.. bam! Well I suppose at the start they said dopplegangers would take over your body... both him and Lucia seemed to ignore that little tid bit after awhile, therefore so did I, lol. Good lord my brain hurts.. in a good way! I've always loved a good mystery, and you did the genre justice Wowy though it seems like ALL the characters were bad guys in their own way, haha.. maybe my view will differ on other paths? The whole ending bit with Mr. and Mrs. Black and White was shocking.. in fact, it screamed "sequel" to me. Seems like some loose ends there is all, but I could be wrong and it is hidden within the game still... after all, I did only play one path.

Anyway congrats again on finishing this, Azure! It kept me so captivated that I didn't notice three hours had passed playing it, and that is after I picked up where I left off the day before, haha. This is going to be one of my favorite games.. not surprising, Fantasia left me just as awe-struck when you released those.. only you've improved, and I've matured enough to realize that this could probably beat out Fantasia for me now.

Ahh I can't stop gushing! XD Just.. great job, really. Thanks for creating such a great story!

[azureXtwilight]

Thanks! I hope you'll be back after you played the whole paths :3 Also, I am not planning a sequel at all D:

[lilyrose]

Well what can I say...........I loved it!!!! XD!!!!!! I got through almost all the endings in one day (SOOOOO ADDITIVE!!!!!!) It turned out really well

My favorite was Bright New Days path (new fanclub girl) even though it was probably the furthest from the plot than all the others. I really didn't like Blake to begin with but I just loved him in the end of it :3 Why did you put a path that didn't really have much to do with the plot? or am I just missing something?

But I must say this game was really well done
I can see why you would enjoy making it compared to the Fantasia games (Though I do love those 2 like a lot)
But now all thats left is a few endings in the last path can't wait to see them.

[DemonicWereFox]

I'm really enjoying this game so far and only really have one complaint

regarding the way Yuri's condition is handled. Klinefelter's has mostly physical symptoms and aside from some learning impairment there is no mental symptoms. While it would be fine for Yuri to be secretly interested in domestic tasks like cleaning and tea making, with the combination of his condition it feels like you're saying that's the reason he's like that. Especially with him as a child, the low testosterone wouldn't have affected his appearance so severely that young and unless he was already predispositioned to look incredibly effeminate Yuri would have probably looked like any other boy his age. It's entirely your choice how to make your characters and I'm certain this wasn't your intent it's just really easy to misrepresent conditions and diseases especially with something like a game or a novel, where research can't always be in depth about every little thing.

[TheOneTwo]

Uhh.. what is the best path for Yuri?

[azureXtwilight]

I'm really enjoying this game so far and only really have one complaint

regarding the way Yuri's condition is handled. Klinefelter's has mostly physical symptoms and aside from some learning impairment there is no mental symptoms. While it would be fine for Yuri to be secretly interested in domestic tasks like cleaning and tea making, with the combination of his condition it feels like you're saying that's the reason he's like that. Especially with him as a child, the low testosterone wouldn't have affected his appearance so severely that young and unless he was already predispositioned to look incredibly effeminate Yuri would have probably looked like any other boy his age. It's entirely your choice how to make your characters and I'm certain this wasn't your intent it's just really easy to misrepresent conditions and diseases especially with something like a game or a novel, where research can't always be in depth about every little thing.

Ah, I see. I was actually seeing one episode in House and thought that it was based on a real representation, then again it might be really extreme and I wanted him to be one of the quite extreme cases. I know that even without those things a boy can easily be effeminated, since in his childhood Yuri only became friends with little girls and he's more or less preferred to play house and do feminime things because of their influence.

Thanks for pointing that out!

Uhh.. what is the best path for Yuri?

Well, the ones when he is saved from his doppelganger of course?

[okiness]

Yeah he's right about Klinefelter's. I didn't want to say anything because I know you're pre med so I figured you studied it, but given I major in biology, COUGH

Klinefelter is actually a very hard to notice disease. Generally speaking it's rarely even detected in most people who have it, sans those who are tested for it prenatally. They aren't usually born with ambiguous genitalia either, or it would be a well known disease. Yuri is showing symptoms of True Hermaphroditisism as well as being transgendered. It's XXY or XXXY - basically you have a feminine situation and can have small testes in some occasions, but mostly it's nothing special and men can go their whole lives without knowing until they have fertility issues.

Basically, wanting to be feminine or a girl? Absolutely NOTHING to do with Klinefelter. House just made that superfluous and borderline trans phobic.

[lein]

I have been already playing this game for almost 3 days straight in my spare time, using so much skip buttons and start over a new game (I usually used my saved states to continue but this...) just to make sure I won't miss a single thing of new dialogues or new patch unlocked after I finished an ending.

well, to think this VN would have 5 different paths + 1 Final path (and I assume the final ending one is the real path of the story!), 80+ CGs with OP vids, etc.... sure makes me real excited to play this game!

Back when first I tried the demo, I was already aware of what GxB-ish this VN would be.... but still I would think of a person that had to be Lucia's canon, and at first I thought it was... Yuri. LOL.
and I also thought of ??? would be either an ally/enemy, Jun would have some bussiness wit Yuri (and damn yeah I was right lol), or either clifford or rico would be Lucia's main interest... and the rest weren't going to be important at all.

But man, I was wrong at all.

the first time I started playing this I was planning to get... Lee. I kinda think of it when I read the extra scene of the previous demo. He was in love in Lucia, and well... guess I have to try that. So I tried to choose Lee's path, and as I went through his path... I felt I was totally wrong to had chosen his path.
I couldn't believe he was such a.... you know it yourself lol. Such a total twist coming from another characters related to Lee families too, like Shuang and Chunxiang... and thus it ended with the first ending I got : "Together" (from The Crimson Tyrant's path).

And accidently I also found that Azure had already posted the walkthru, so I guess I'll start playing this in order (not really in order endings, but in order paths started with Yuri's, Raphael's and so on).

I was like OMGWTF!? and DAMNIT WHY IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS?? or MMMFFFHH WHY CANT THEY HAVE A GOOD ENDING NNNUUOOOOH and so on while playing thru each endings lol.

and I'd like to see more about how Clifford and Shuang would end. That time, I potrait Shuang and co. as the evil one too (see raphael's path) and how would cliff would get shuang back. after getting the last ending of Cliff's path (and I consider it as the best ending atm), esp. when I see ??? being a good guy in the end, and... seems to have some deals later with Lucia (with that star-shaped charm and with start-a-new-love thing...).

I can't help but start to think this ??? would be Lucia's canon, which previously never be thought of. Seriously.
Esp. when I saw the new paths, new scenes unlocked, and seeing this ??? on the vid... makes me believe this guy would be the canon.

(Well, I kind of accidently saw 'Neo' was actually written in the name box JUST ONCE in Lee's path way before ???'s name was fully revealed in the new OP vid... was this not a typo?)

I cant help but enjoy this Final path!
I'm not saying I dislike another guys' path, but... To think each character actually had their own partner

(Rico w/ Anastasia, Yuri w/ Jun, Raphael w/ Bertha, Lee w/ Chunxiang, Clifford w/ Shuang, Niel w/ Nia, and Blake... I don't really want Lucia to be with him actually lol)

,
and this Marshall guy would be such a good guy instead of a villain aura he had on previous paths (not to forget he's a comedic one lol)...
How could I not think they would be canon? Lucia has to end up with him, no matter what! lol

Pushing the excitement of this canon pair aside, another truths discovered from this path were also awesomely strucked my mind. This final path contains almost all main parts of previous paths too, and this way the Doppelganger storyline finally makes sense at all. The masterminds, the causes, the untold flashbacks.... the way each pieces of stories merged and told from previous paths is brilliant!

and so I've finally unlocked almost all endings, with a total of almost 24 hrs calculated from 3 days playing this straight.
and my opinions regarding the most memorial (mostly good endings) on each of another paths:

Reverse Lies : 2. Tomorrow. Yuri got rid of his doppelganger, and ended up with Jun. yay.
Death of a Self-Proclaimed God : erm.... I thought of none, but the better one is 3. Free. since they got together, although became a lost one in the end.
The Crimson Tyrant : err... I don't really pay attention to the endings, actually... since I view Lee as a total jerk already lol. But I would say 4: Omnipresent was the most extreme, and the worst.
White Moon Reminiscene : the 5th one (forgot the name). Well, Cliff reunited with his body, and got back with Shuang and also Lucia x Neo hint came from the very last part (when Lucia drops star-shaped charm given from Shuang... YEAAAAH lol)
Broken Crescendo : 3. Bright New Days. Not really because of Blake ends with Lucia, but more because of Neo finally popped up as a good guy (more like a caretaker of 2 kids lol). Moaar Neo. YEAAAAH.

also I would consider that

End of the Inverted soul is the main storyline, and Denounement of the Inverted soul is the real ending.
What could I say more about this? The real mastermind vanished, no doppels anymore, all chars finally ended up with their true partners, and of course Lucia x Neo! I was like HUOO NEO Y U SO CUTE JUST KISS HER ALREADY! and the final CGs.... It really made my day! DD

Oookay, thats really a long way to read lol. tl;dr.

now for the CnC time!

- Arts are good! especially the way you color the sprites, and the proportions... really improved from your last games. really. for a solo project like this, and to get bunches of CGs from your own.... just wow. You rock, girl! way to improve more!

- Story... what more can I say? the twisted plots, 6 long paths and 29 different endings are way too awesome for a sole writer to handle. One thing that bugs me is just the pace of the story... seems to be a bit rushed. Example, when Iggy suddenly died out of nowhere, or when Jun suddenly got confessed by Yuri out of nowhere and died. I could understand that the scene which explains how Iggy dies and also other important missing scenes would show up if you try another routes... but it doesnt feel too right when we are on a route where those important missing scenes dont show up.

Also when I first tried Lee's path, I don;t really get the feeling that Lucia would love raphael for real... 'coz i don't really get the scenes where Lucia and raphael involved much, and i dont really feel she would have a serious crush on him... it just happens that way which makes me go a bit 'huh?' as I continue playing.

and as for bad endings i got... the ending was like rushed. Just a few descriptions without a scene, and it ended... if I don't get a good ending first, I may feel a little bit disturbed with a sudden end like that lol.

But believe me, the rests are AWESOME. I don't have the right to give critiques more since I don't have the experience in story making lol

- Characters. They are ALL AMAZING.
For a main character, Lucia was good. not to say she was not bad, but... I thought Lucia was a kind of though heroine one, but it didn't turned out like that lol. But she was normal, at least.
All characters seem to have either special authorities and powers in their own way, no? Big and rich families, cops, hacker, idol, and... supernatural powers, of course.
and weapons! it reminds me of Higurashi no naku koro ni, where all characters seem to have specific weapons used to kill lol.

for my favorite, I'd like to choose Neo for sure. For a villain look in the beginning which turns out to be the justice... who couldn't love him? hahaha.

and also the most twisted character ever, the second ??? aka Zhuang. well, I know something feels off seeing a really cute and good char like him back in Ralph's path... and I also feel he has something related to Shuang since their faces and hair are alike (maybe siblings or what). Turns out right that he's... you know that. And thanks to the dark expressions Zhuang had when he became evil, I couldnt think of the cute zhuang ever again lol.

- GUI is great! I like the changing title pic after finishing each paths, and my fave is Lee's the switches to NVL actually bugs me a bit but it's fine though.... I don't think any of a better way to tell something in 3rd PoV though. I also like the scene when they were talking on the phone

- BGMs and sounds are great too. The BGMs chosen for a certain scene are nice. And I bet the game filesize is this big because of these much BGMs lol.

I'll give this game rate 9 of 10. Congratulations!
This also concludes my post.

Great job as usual, Azure!! I'm looking forward to your next games!!
More Re:Set please lol

(and I'm thinking of making a fanart soon.... The chars holding their own weapon lol)

[Spongeyuns]

Wow, this game is awesome! The plot was very tied together and everything. Alot of time, mystery or horror stories tend to be dull and predictable but HOLY CHEESE, I did not see alot of those twists coming. Maybe you're a genius or maybe my imagination sucks. Either way, great job.

After I beat one of raphael's ending, I swear, I almost flipped my laptop over XD

I loved Jun, she reminded me so much of myself. The tomboyish, the desire to be more feminine. ohmygod so many feels
I also really liked how everything was colored, the way the people were shaded was so pretty ;A;

Anywho, this game is awesome! Wonderful job.

[azureXtwilight]

@lein:

Pssh, you will want to spoileri-fy everything because most of it are spoilers! XD
Thank you for your comments, I'm very happy that you like the game overall. And congrats for your OTP making it to the end? I'll be looking forward to that fanart~

@Spongeyuns :

Yay! Glad to see you enjoyed it! It seems like you've finished a path, more plot twists coming right over~ :3

[inhalance]

I just finished this game, and let me just say, you've done such a great job on this that it's so generous of you to make it a noncommercial game. I am definitely blown away by the quality and effort put into this project, so kudos to you!

Overall, the game was very enjoyable, the graphics and GUI were very smooth, and the music helped to set the mood of the game (except at some parts I got a little scared so I ended up muting it HAHA)

I played through one of Lee's paths and got the 3rd one, The Dragon's Karma (I think that's what it was called?), and here are some of my thoughts:

I thought Lee was adorbs at first. So perfect, polite, and cute when he blushed around Lucia. During the prologue of the game, I was so freaked out by what happened to Anastasia though, and that part with Rico and Anastasia in the hospital.. my feels ;__; I loved Jun! She was definitely badass, and not one of those wimpy girls you regularly see in VN's. I don't know why, but Lucia's doppelganger really creeped me out. Is it just me, or was her doppelganger the scariest one.. As the story progressed, I kind of wanted Jun to end up with Yuri, but when he died my facial expression was just , especially since at first I didn't understand what had happened OTL.

Once Lucia found out more about Lee, I began to dislike him since he was such a bitch and obsessive freak about Lucia.. . I was actually glad that he died. However, I did want to find out more about the butler boy who killed him.. maybe if I play through the other paths I'll find out!

I really enjoyed myself playing this game. Three hours passed by so quickly as well, I was just so absorbed heh. I'm planning on playing through the rests of the paths as well. ^^

Thank you for such a great game! Your hard work is definitely being appreciated!

[Seriea]

I finished the game but I still have 3 BGMs and 1 CG that haven't been unlocked. And also is there really no 4th ending in End of The Inverted Souls?

[WickedRaccoon]

After playing the whole game like effin crazy,it's time to introduce my review!
My congrats to you madam,for the awesomeness you have and for the amazing work you did!

It was a really really enjoyable game! Even though I kind of dislike long games,yours never left me -not even one moment- without being surprised. Each time I played a path I was like "what?no way!get outta here...this can't be happening",and when I tried to skip the prologue after ever path,I couldn't cause I missed the new info unlocked after completing some endings.

The art and the graphics are great,the music..erm,yeah..sorry,I really can't say anything here cause I never play a game with music,especially a shit-brickery one.. /shot :"D But I loved every song you put in the videos. I replay them all the time. (Is it my idea,or is the main menu song based off of the Fantasia OP video? If not,was is the name of it?)
The lever of patience you have to make so many CG's is too damn high! The were so adorable (the non-bloody ones of course),especially the one with the two kids.
The videos were one of the many favorites parts! That's the job of a professional,I can't believe you actually made those. They remind me the ones you see in an anime rather than in an otome game. Kudos to you!

I was suprised about the characters actual roles. I remember playing the first demo and I had already made assumptions about each one,but girl,you proved me wrong! The more I played the game and developed the story,my mind was blown with their real personalities,life issues and relationships.
The most heartbreaking moment was when I played the scene with Anastasia and Rico in the hospital. I actually felt sad for her (damn those onion-cutting ninjas!). I mean yeah,she was horrible,but still,I felt bad about her T^T. Poor Rico...thankfully he got to see her in the end,which made me somewhat happy.
I love the guy you paired up Lucia with (ohmygod,I LOVE HIM! :'D) and basically love the whole pairing concept. My fave was Lucia x *beep* and then it's a tie between Jun x *beep* and Lee x *beep* (sorry,no spoilers for the one's that haven't played it yet! XD)
Also,I was left speechless when I finally got to the end and saw -dun,dun,duuun!- the "real" mastermind behind it all. I nearly shitted bricks when his face turned like a sadistic mofo after his plan was exposed.

The best part was the pun lines! Yes,you heard me,the puns! Every time somebody in the game said a pun,it cracked me up so hard it always made me cry from laughter. I did notice some typos (nothing too serious to distract the reader),but overall it was a nice story. Very well-composed plot.

So thank you miss Azure,for another awesome game of yours!
Cheers!

[lein]

I finished the game but I still have 3 BGMs and 1 CG that haven't been unlocked. And also is there really no 4th ending in End of The Inverted Souls?

I've already got all the endings by now. So you may want to try again to get it

but still now I'm missing only a CG.... I'm sure I've already repeated so many times for each paths and choices.... or maybe not :\

[azureXtwilight]

I wonder which cg you didn't unlock. I might be able to help XD